


Letters

by WrenNJerrys



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: A little all over the place, Kageyama is an idiot, Love Letters, M/M, basically just jealous pining but he doesnt realize hes jealous, longest fic ive written yet im tired, will add at least one more chap
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:54:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22730572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WrenNJerrys/pseuds/WrenNJerrys
Summary: Kageyama Tobio’s days usually followed a pattern. But he was pretty sure that the girls that confessed to him usually didn’t bring envelopes closed with a heart shaped sticker sealing them shut, and usually didn’t mention Hinata at all, let alone--“I know this must be bothersome, but I-I don’t know how to ask him myself, a-and you’re his best friend, so can you please deliver this to Hinata Shouyou?”“...Uh,” Kageyama answered eloquently, “what?”
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio
Comments: 19
Kudos: 93





	Letters

**Author's Note:**

> UUUGH IM SO EXHAUSTED I PROCRASTINATED WAY TOO MUCH ON THIS
> 
> This is meant for Day One of the Valentine's Event on the Kagehina discord but here I am two days late trying to get this in at least for Valentine's Day
> 
> The second half is much less polished than the beginning, and the end is very rushed. I will try to come back and edit this in the future and I do want to write at least one more chapter.
> 
> Any feedback is completely accepted! Whether it's a grammar mistake or you think my pacing is bad or ANYTHING, give me advice, PLEASE i will worship you if you do

Kageyama Tobio’s days usually followed a pattern. He woke up at home around 7, did his morning exercises, ate breakfast, took a shower and got dressed, then headed outside on his way to school at 7:30. He called out a goodbye to his mother as he stepped out the door. And then he turned, and began walking.

He met up with Hinata somewhere along the way--sometimes halfway there, with a flash of red hair speeding past on a bicycle, yelling back taunts about how slow Kageyama was. Sometimes at the school gate, where Hinata would finish locking up his bicycle before getting a headstart on the way to the clubroom, yelling back taunts about how slow Kageyama was. Sometimes right as he stepped out the door of his house, the both of them exchanging greetings and beginning to walk, before they got impatient and Hinata was suddenly pedalling down the hill, yelling back taunts about how slow Kageyama was.

Every time, Kageyama would yell back at him, call him a dumbass, and chase after him. Sometimes Hinata would run beside him the whole time. Sometimes Hinata would blast ahead on his bike, but be slowed down by his clumsy attempts to lock it up. When that happened, Kageyama would pass by him and laugh as he did. Every time, Hinata caught up with him as they bolted for the clubroom, the taunts never stopping until they reached their destination. 

About half the time, those taunts paid off with bragging rights as Hinata slammed into the clubroom a second earlier than Kageyama. About half the time, they fell short as Kageyama shoved his way in first, and he would have his first excuse to make fun of Hinata.

Sometimes, as they bickered, never able to accept that the other had won, Kageyama would think about how it was only in high school, it was only at Karasuno, it was only with Hinata that he’d ever done something like this. Then Daichi would yell at them for fighting, or Tsukishima for being stupid, or Ennoshita for being loud. Then Kageyama would stop thinking about it.

After that, Kageyama would get dressed and head out with the others to morning practice. Occasionally, he would be stopped by a red-faced stuttering girl, asking to speak with him alone for a moment, and he would reluctantly agree. Daichi would sigh, Tanaka and Nishinoya would growl in annoyance, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi would snicker. Hinata would frown the same way he does when Kageyama refuses to buy him a meat bun, grumbling something about getting tosses from Suga instead. Hinata always pouted the same way--his cheeks would puff up, and his eyes would narrow, and he’d vehemently ignore Kageyama for no longer than 5 minutes afterwards, before he grew too antsy and returned to his natural state of being a general nuisance. 

But before he could play volleyball with Hinata, he had to go talk to the girl, because it was apparently rude to ignore her. She would start with something about how she admired Kageyama, babbling on about whatever it was that Kageyama wasn’t paying attention to, too busy thinking about volleyball, if Suga’s ankle was still twisted from when he tripped yesterday, or how he could tell Nishinoya how to improve his tosses without being rude, or the way time froze when Hinata jumped to spike, and his red hair flew around his face, framing those big, round eyes that laser focused on the ball, brighter than ever since he was able to truly play now, and why did Kageyama ever think Hinata should keep them closed?

Then the girl would suddenly straighten up, and he’d have to act like he knew what was going on, and she’d ask him if he would please go on a date with her. And because Hinata had told Kageyama that a sharp, succinct, _”No,”_ before walking away was too rude, he recited his example instead, monotone in a way that could only be emulated in a school play someone was only participating in out of necessity; _”I’m sorry, but I’m too busy with volleyball for a relationship right now. I can’t return your feelings, but I hope you find someone else.”_

Then the girl would walk away, sometimes after a glum apology, sometimes after an embarrassed apology, sometimes after an angry and passive aggressive and sarcastic apology. Sometimes the latter would include an annoyed mutter of _”King,”_ which had spread around the school thanks to Tsukishima’s constant use of it, and that practice might end with him walking Hinata to the nurse, with an awkward apology of Kageyama’s own after hitting him with a stray, distracted serve.

After that, a mindless drag of classes followed, in which he slept or squinted in confusion at the board or scowled at a score on a test, never reaching higher than a 65, which on its own was only when he was lucky. Then there would be break, full of red hair and arguments and spontaneous competitions, and shoveling down their lunches as fast as possible so there would be more time to practice before they went back. After another blur of sleep and confusion and daydreaming about volleyball, the school day ended and he met up with Hinata again and raced him to the clubroom, where they changed and rushed off to afternoon practice.

Most of the time, he left with the others at the normal time, and the third years would buy them meat buns, and they’d eat and discuss what happened today at school, what they should work on in practice, whether Kageyama’s and Hinata’s grades were getting any better (Always a no, paired with a disapproving glare from Daichi). Sometimes, if Hinata or Kageyama or both had a bad day, or maybe even a particularly good one, they would both stay behind for extra practice. Yachi joined them--she always did these days, after the training camp, and though Kageyama felt annoyed after Tsukishima pointed out that she was babysitting them, Yachi was nice. And anyway, at least it wasn’t Tsukishima doing the babysitting.

Every time, Kageyama walked with Hinata as everyone else split off, waving him off as they reached the bottom of the path up the mountain, where Hinata got on his bicycle and rode off. Kageyama would turn around and walk back the way he came, all the way past Sakanoshita to his house, which was the opposite direction of Hinata’s. He arrived home half an hour later then he had back in middle school because of it.

Sometimes Kageyama would think about how he added an extra 20 minutes to his walk home just to spend time with Hinata. Then his face would start to heat up, and he’d worry that he might have a fever, and he would arrive home to his mother telling him what she made for dinner. Then Kageyama would stop thinking about it.

Kageyama Tobio’s days usually followed a pattern. But he was pretty sure that the girls that confessed to him usually didn’t bring envelopes closed with a heart shaped sticker sealing them shut, and usually didn’t mention Hinata at all, let alone--

“I know this must be bothersome, but I-I don’t know how to ask him myself, a-and you’re his best friend, so can you please deliver this to Hinata Shouyou?”

“...Uh,” Kageyama answered eloquently, “what?”

The girl’s face looked like a ripe tomato at this point, and she was stuttering so much she sounded like a car engine from the 1800s that hadn’t seen an auto repair shop once since its creation. She fidgeted, twirling one of her twin braids, and sucked in a deep breath that she held so long her face went from tomato to eggplant, before letting it out with a strong gust of air. Staring up at him, she started again.

“I just… Hinata’s always been so friendly and nice to everyone in our class, and I thought that was pretty cool, since I’m not very good at talking to people like that, and one time he shared his lunch with me when I forgot it, and I guess that’s when it started, but when I saw you guys play against Shiratorizawa, he was so cool, and fast, and he jumped so high, and I thought it was amazing how he could play so well when he’s so short, and that makes him even cooler, and I’ve never had a b-boyfriend before but, but… Well, I just thought that maybe if he was interested then… we could, maybe…”

Her voice trailed off, and she looked down at her feet, shuffling back and forth awkwardly as she waited for a response. Kageyama was still thinking about how she had called Hinata his best friend. People thought they were best friends? Were they best friends? Was that why they spent so much time together? There was also a weird nagging feeling in his gut that told him to pay attention for once, that maybe this girl was saying something important right now. Something about Hinata, and being cool, and boyfriends--

_...Wait, huh?_

He opened his mouth to say exactly that, but the gym door slammed open, and Daichi, resonating an aura of pure malice, leaned out to snap a threat about benching him if he didn’t hurry up. The door closed behind him with a foreboding _thunk_ that sent a chill down his spine, and the girl startled, looking back up to Kageyama, mortified, before stammering, “S-s-s-sorry, I’ll go now! Just, please, by the end of the day--”

She shoved the letter into his chest, now wrinkled and folded from her restless fidgeting, before dashing off.

Kageyama stood there for what felt like both a second and an eternity, wondering what just happened and why he felt like he was going to puke, wondering if it was because of the cold fear of Daichi or the letter that seemed to leave burns on his fingertips the longer he held it. It was weird how everything related to Hinata seemed to burn. His hair and eyes glowed like the sun, evoking more brilliance and radiance than the way the gym lights of center court at nationals reflected off the shining hardwood floors. And the way that his bangs shadowed over his face when he was pumped up always seemed to make those eyes burn brighter, turning from a warm brown to a searing honey-gold, and Kageyama would remember his mother’s warnings to always wear sunscreen, and he wondered if it was possible for the twin stars in Hinata’s eyes to give him skin cancer.

The letter didn’t hold the same heat as Hinata, however. Hinata’s heat was bright and inspiring, warm and comforting, and sometimes sharp like lightning and liquid adrenaline in his veins. The letter felt more like it was melting the tips of his fingers off, as if it were made of acid. Maybe it was, for all he knew. Maybe it was some evil mastermind’s ploy to get him and Hinata off the court so that the threat of Karasuno’s freak quick duo was null and void. Maybe Kageyama should have been nicer to Oikawa. Or maybe the ridiculous movies and anime and manga series that Hinata forced him to watch were a bad influence on his imagination.

The gym door slid open again behind him, and he turned to see orange fluff bouncing towards him. With a sudden rush of panic, Kageyama nearly tripped over himself, missed four times trying to shove the letter into his pocket, and gave himself a papercut. When he finally succeeded, the paper nothing more than a crumpled ball at this point, he stood up and willed himself very loudly inside his head to act that Everything Was Normal.

Hinata stared at him in bafflement for a few moments, before cocking an eyebrow at him and saying, “What’s your problem?”

Mission failed. Well, that was fine, Kageyama simply had to calmly distract him from the topic. Hinata was an idiot, it’d be easy.

“You never take more than a few minutes at most with girls. Did something happen? Or…” His eyes widened like saucers, “Woah, no way, did _Kageyama_ get a girlfriend!? You’re kidding, right? I didn’t know you were even capable of having emotions other than anger and volleyball!”

Kageyama felt a vein pop on his forehead, and a voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like a certain four-eyed snarky asshole reminded him that Hinata wasn’t the only idiot on the team. He choked on his own spit, falling into a coughing fit and growing warm with embarrassment and defensive rage, barely managing to squeak out, “ _No_ , dumbass, I don’t--I don’t _want_ a girlfriend, it’ll get in the way of volleyball, and what the hell is that supposed to mean!? I’m not always angry, and--and volleyball isn’t even an emotion in the first place, dumbass! And anyway, she wasn’t even--I mean, who cares about girls! They’re stupid and annoying and--Ugh, it’s nothing! Why are you always so nosy, idiot!? You’re always trying to meddle in everyone’s business, as if anyone would ever need _your_ help with anything! Get back to practice, you suck too much to have any time to waste anyway, dumbass!”

Despite his rough start, Kageyama decided that he’d managed a pretty decent recovery at the end there. And based on Hinata’s reddening face and infuriated scowl, his distraction had worked flawlessly, with Hinata barking back a _”Bakageyama!”_ and rearing up for what would undoubtedly be another explosive argument--

“STOP WASTING TIME AND GET BACK HERE, BOTH OF YOU! YOU’RE BOTH RUNNING EXTRA LAPS!”

Kageyama whipped around, Hinata jumped about 3 feet into the air, and Daichi fumed with the fury of a thousand suns. Their fight was forgotten as they bolted back to the gym, starting their punishment laps. As they ran, Kageyama sucked on his papercut and ran through the counter-arguments he’d say to Hinata when Daichi took his eyes off of them. The letter didn’t burn anymore. It felt more like a cold chunk of icy rock in his pocket.

But why did it even matter? Kageyama didn’t even know why he was so worked up in the first place. Everything was normal, nothing had changed, and he would just continue his daily routine and give Hinata the letter later on, when the tension between them defused. Maybe during lunch.

Everything was not, in fact, normal. During morning practice, Kageyama was almost certain he had done better when he was first learning the basics of volleyball, way back when before he’d even hit double digits. He shoved others out of the way and missed the jump timing for blocks. His serves passed the line entirely, flying back to hit the wall instead of the gym floor. He missed so many tosses that Coach Ukai had forced him to sit on the bench for the rest of practice and sent in Suga to play in his place. As he moped and wallowed in despair on the bench, Takeda-sensei buzzed around him like an annoying fly, dropping badly hidden hints of concern and suggestions to visit the nurse every few minutes. Kageyama was too busy mourning the fact that Hinata had managed more successful recieves than him today to even consider him.

After practice, he managed to barely weasel his way out of any discussions about his less than spectacular performance, changing in record time and discreetly slipping the letter into his uniform’s pocket before running off. For the first time in his life, Kageyama Tobio reached his classroom not only on time, but before anybody else. He felt a little sorry for his teacher, who looked ecstatic at the thought of Kageyama showing an interest in class. He refrained from telling her the real reason. He settled into his seat, sighing at the relief of not having to deal with any awkward conversations until at least break.

But as everyone else poured in and the teacher began droning on, he realized that classes were a terrible way to avoid thinking about something. By the time numbers began appearing on the board, Kageyama’s focus was already out the window. Or rather, in his pocket. What the hell was he supposed to do with the letter? Was he really supposed to just _give_ it to Hinata? What then? Kageyama didn’t really want to stick around to watch Hinata flip his shit over the idea of a girl writing him a love letter. He would probably go bother Nishinoya and Tanaka about it, and the three of them would rejoice together over their precious junior receiving his first love confession.

...This was the first time Hinata had been confessed to, right? Kageyama was pretty sure he’d never dated anyone before. Hinata was short, and annoying, and not cool at all. According to the multitude of girls who cornered him in the courtyard, Kageyama was apparently the kind of guy that girls liked to date, and Hinata was nothing like Kageyama. Hinata had a sort of friendly innocence. The kind that made people want to cheer him on and protect him when he was in trouble. He was cheerful, but not intense like Nishinoya and Tanaka. He was sensitive to others’ feelings, but unafraid to reach out to help, unlike Yamaguchi and Yachi. He sucked at volleyball, but never once even considered the thought of giving up, only how to improve. No matter how many times he hit rock bottom, Hinata only ever thought of building a ladder to climb back up.

When Kageyama sometimes passed by his classroom to meet with him for lunch, Hinata was always surrounded by people. His classmates would turn around in their seats, or walk over from the other side of the classroom to talk with him. The boys would tease him about his height and ruffle his hair affectionately, and ask him if he wanted a part of their lunch, because a growing boy needed to eat. The girls would offer candy they’d brought from home, and ask if he needed any more help with math, and squeal over the pictures of Natsu he would show them on his phone. Even in middle school, Hinata had somehow convinced a group of complete volleyball newbies to join him in an official tournament, with almost none of them having any experience. Wherever Hinata went, people seemed to orbit around him with ease.

Who was Kageyama kidding? People adored Hinata, certainly more than they liked Kageyama. And if he got confessions every few days, then how often did Hinata get them?

Kageyama was feeling really angry all of a sudden. Who did Hinata think he was, hiding something like that from the rest of them? How many girlfriends had he had? Was he dating someone right now? How had Kageyama never met them before? He and Hinata spent almost every weekend practicing together, for fuck’s sake!

But… People who dated had to go on dates, right? Hinata wouldn’t be able to spend any time with them if he was always practicing with Kageyama, and he was way too nice to neglect someone, his girlfriend especially, like that. So… Did Hinata not have a girlfriend?

Kageyama’s head was spinning. Romance was confusing, and a waste of time, and he did not care _in the slightest_ about Hinata of all people’s romantic endeavors. His grades were suffering too much to be thinking about this, and if they didn’t start improving soon, he’d be in for another make-up exam that would interrupt precious volleyball time. Kageyama looked up at the board. The single problem that had been up there before was now surrounded by a mass of numbers that would be impossible to distinguish from each other.

Kageyama looked back down at his unopened textbook and despaired.

The bell for break time was probably the most relieving but foreboding sound Kageyama had ever heard in his life. He shot up from his desk like a rocket, sending his chair screeching backwards and tipping over, nearly on top of one of his classmates. He quickly righted it, grimacing at the boy in a way that was meant to be apologetic but was probably more terrifying, based on his startled flinch, and strode out of the room, feeling the eyes of everyone clinging to his back.

He had to move fast. With any luck, Hinata would be distracted by his classmates today and would take a few minutes to head out to meet Kageyama for lunch. In that time, Kageyama could go buy bread from the school store and milk from the vending machine, and then find somewhere other than the courtyard to eat lunch. He stomped down the hall, students parting around him like the Red Sea around Moses, and the girl running the school store may have had a heart attack when he snatched his bread and slammed the bills on the counter. He was in too much of a hurry to care.

Kageyama rounded the corner that led to the vending machines, and immediately whirled back around to hide behind the wall. He peeked out and muttered an annoyed curse. Hinata was standing in front of the vending machine, spinning a volleyball between his hands, glancing back and forth as he just stood there. Kageyama watched for a few more moments, sneering at Hinata from behind a wall several meters away like the biggest creep in the world.

_Aren’t you going to buy something? Don’t just stand there in everyone’s way, dumbass!_

Kageyama’s internal screaming wasn’t making Hinata budge, no matter how loud or how much he yelled. It took him nearly 10 minutes of failed telepathy and creepy stalkerish staring for Kageyama to mournfully give up on his milk and slink away. He spent the rest of break locked in a bathroom stall, pulling his feet up and unsuccessfully balancing his huge body on the tiny toilet as he nibbled at his bread like a fat, angry squirrel.

Eating and hiding in the toilets, Kageyama thought, was much better at calming him down than he had expected. It took him nearly a whole hour for his thoughts to drift back to Hinata and the dreaded letter, and suddenly it didn’t seem very important at all. Volleyball was much more important than romance. Kageyama knew this. He stared down at the letter on his desk, which was still wrinkled despite his efforts to straighten it out. Kageyama felt a bit proud of himself for holding back from opening and reading it, but then realized that he didn’t _care_ what it said in the first place.

Volleyball was much more important than romance. That was a lesson that he’d learned ages ago in middle school from watching Oikawa and his many disastrous conquests. Nothing was different now. Kageyama pushed the letter down to the very bottom of his bag, piling books on top of it and zipping it closed, before dropping his head onto his desk and sighing. Volleyball was much more important than romance. Hinata knew that too.

Thinking took way too much energy. Hinata didn’t need a girlfriend. He had enough to deal with, just with improving his blocks, let alone his serves and receives. Hinata didn’t have the _time_ for a girlfriend. Those were the facts, and nothing else was needed. Putting effort into thoughts was for Tsukishima. It was probably why he was so mean.

He felt his eyes slip closed, and the next time they opened was when the bell rang for the end of classes.

Afternoon practice was a breath of fresh air. Kageyama felt a sense of rightness, a calm awareness of himself and everything around him that he’d last felt when he and Hinata first managed their new quick at the training camp. It was the sort of calm that made everything unnecessary vanish, and all that was left was the lines of the court, the height of the net, the ball soaring through the air, and where would it go next? Where were the blockers waiting? What were his teammates doing? How could he get the ball to hit the ground on the other side of the net?

_Suga’s serve. Floater. Back, towards the line._

Back then, the only thing that could break through his shield of logicality was Hinata.

_Still inside. Kageyama was too far._

Hinata didn’t need a girlfriend.

_“Mine!” Daichi. Perfect arc._

What did Kageyama care? It was none of his business what Hinata did. Why did he care so much? What fucking business did Kageyama have in Hinata’s love life? In his social life at all? They weren’t _friends_. All Kageyama cared about was volleyball. All Hinata cared about was volleyball. What right did Kageyama have to dictate his decisions?

_”Kageyama!”_

The ball landed wrong in Kageyama’s hands, and his toss fell short. Suga, Nishinoya, and Tsukishima were at set point now. Tsukishima laughed at him from the other side of the net. Daichi put a hand on Kageyama’s shoulder in concern. Hinata waved his arms in front of his face.

_”King.”_

Kageyama was an idiot.

They lost the three-on-three.

Kageyama shoved the letter into Hinata’s chest before anyone could even grab their spare clothes. Without a word, he turned on his heel, grabbed his bag and marched out of the clubroom. A sickening feeling rose in his stomach when he thought of staying to watch Hinata read his dumbass love letter. He didn’t realize that he was still in his gym clothes until he was half way home.

Kageyama couldn’t remember the last time he’d been home so early. He couldn’t remember the last time he slammed the door to his room shut without even responding to his mom’s greeting. He couldn’t remember the last time he walked home alone straight from school. He couldn’t remember the last time he hadn’t ended the day with Hinata grinning and waving goodbye.

Kageyama couldn’t sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Posting this at exactly 12:01 AM on February 15th, aaugguh >:(


End file.
